China's Bizarre Celebrity Nicknames
It’s a common practice in China to give Western celebrities nicknames that don't always match up with their given names. Sometimes this will be a play on the transliteration of the celebrity’s real name or a reflection on the celebrity’s reputation. Some of these nicknames can be pretty hilarious or just straight up insulting, so let’s have a look at some of the funniest and the stories behind them.
水果姐
shuǐguǒ jiě
"Fruit Sister"
If you’re a fan of Katy Perry then you
should already know that fruity outfits or props have featured
prominently in her music videos and shows, which have lent her this
playful nickname.
酵母
jiàomǔ
"Yeast"
Not the most pleasant nickname on the
list, this comes from back in the day when Avril Lavigne was nicknamed
the “godmother of alternative music” (非主流教母 fēi zhǔliú jiàomǔ) and godmother (教母 jiàomǔ) has the same pronunciation as 酵母 jiàomǔ, meaning
yeast, so this became her nickname instead.
舌婊
shé biǎo
"Tongue B*tch"
If you’ve watched some of Miley Cyrus’s
music videos, then this nickname should definitely make sense, with one
of her signature moves being to stick out her tongue, so much so that it
has earned her the nickname “Tongue B*tch” in China.
高富帅
gāo fù shuài
"Mr. Perfect"
You may already be familiar with this
Chinese slang term for “Mr. Perfect” which literally means “tall, rich
and handsome”. Well, Calvin Harris is seen to possess all these
qualities, so has been given this nickname by Chinese netizens.
贾老板
jiǎ lǎobǎn
"Boss Jia"
This nickname doesn’t come from Justin
Timberlake’s success in the music industry, but instead from the fact he
has invested money into a lot of other companies and is seen as an
entrepreneur. In China, people admire this industriousness, and so
nicknamed him “Boss Jia”, with 贾 jiǎ being used as the name Justin.
骚当
sāo dāng
"Flirty Adam"
Ok, so the explanation for this one is
pretty simple. In China they view Adam to be a bit of a tease, which
makes sense since he does perform shirtless all the time. 骚 sāo means
flirt and 当 dāng comes from the transliteration for Adam (亚当 Yàdāng).
金大妈
jīn dàmā
"Aunty Gold"
Kim Kardashian has been nicknamed Aunty Gold because she is seen to value money above everything else.
面瘫女
miàntān nǚ
"Stone Cold Face"
In China, Kristen Stewart is known for
not smiling very much, especially when she played Bella in the Twilight
series, so she was given the nickname “stone cold face”.
牛姐
niú jiě
"Cow Sister"
This might sound like a mean nickname, but actually the meaning of 牛 niú here means “awesome” like how you can say 你好牛！Nǐ hǎo niú! (You are awesome!)
小牛牛
xiǎo niúniú
"Little Cow"
In China, they think that Ariana Grande
sounds like a new and young version of Mariah Carey, so seeing as Mariah
is known as “Cow Sister” here, it made perfect sense for Ariana Grande
to be dubbed “Little Cow”.
麻辣鸡
málà jī
"Spicy Chicken"
This is a translation of Nicki Minaj’s
surname, which is also a play on words which alludes to her “spicy” personality
and sexy, hot appearance.
小李子
xiǎo lǐzǐ
"Little Plum"
A very cute nickname given to Leonardo
Dicaprio, plum (李子 lǐzǐ) represents the shortened name Leo, so 小李子 xiǎo lǐzǐ
became an affectionate term for the star.
卷福
juǎn fú
"Curly Blessing"
Benedict Cumberbatch became well-known
in China for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes, and Holmes in Chinese is
福尔摩斯 fú'ěrmósī. Playing the detective in the TV series Sherlock, Cumberbatch
adopted a curly hairstyle for the role, so the first character from
Holmes (福 fú), meaning blessing, was combined with curly to give him this
sweet nickname.
火葬场小天后
huǒzàng chǎng xiǎo tiānhòu
"Queen of the Crematorium"
One of the more bizarre Chinese nicknames
out there, Lana Del Ray has earned the name "Queen of the Crematorium"
because of her ethereal and tragic voice, which Chinese listeners have
said reminds them of music you’d hear at a funeral.
霉霉
méi méi
"Mold Mold"
Not the nicest nickname, 霉霉 méi méi or
Mold Mold can also mean unlucky (倒霉 dǎoméi), and with many of her earlier
songs focusing on previous boyfriends and breakups, Chinese netizens felt
that she was unlucky in love. Also, many of her hit songs would fail to
hit the number one spot and instead come second or third, feeding into
the idea that she’s unlucky.
There are of course plenty more Chinese celebrity nicknames, do you know any others? Let us know in the comments below.
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